Back Pain
Since back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, it is vital to know how to prevent the cause of back pain. By maintaining a healthy diet and weight, remaining active and avoiding prolonged inactivity or bed rest are all important ways to avoid back pain. Before doing exercises or any physical activity, it is recommended to warm up and/or stretch.
Neck Pain
The neck, also called the cervical spine, begins at the base of the skull and contains seven small vertebrae. The cervical spine supports the full weight of your head which is on average about 12 pounds. While the cervical spine can move your head in nearly every direction, this flexibility makes the neck very susceptible to pain and injury.
Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain is a very common condition and affects almost half of the U.S. Most patients feel some sort of pain, limited range of motion, an inability to engage in activities of daily living (ADL) or something more serious as a permanent disability.
Headaches/Migraines
Nine out of ten Americans say that they suffer from headaches. Some of these people experience headaches frequently. Some experience constant headaches that are very painful. These can even make a person nauseous. Ninety-five percent of headaches are tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These types of headaches are not caused from a disease, but from something in your body that is not sitting correctly.
Sports Injury
If you're an athlete, you understand the potential risks that come along with living an active lifestyle, regardless of the specific sport you play. Depending on the sport, risks of certain injuries may be quite high. This is where it can be helpful to have a chiropractic team that you trust and that you can call anytime you experience a sports-related injury.
Here at Washington Chiropractic, sports injury treatment is one of our many areas of expertise. Our goal is to provide you with the highest level of care to determine the cause of your pain and treat it properly so you can get back to performing your best.
A good rule of thumb is if you are able to bear weight, move your injured limb and are not bleeding / have no obvious fracture, we may be a good first choice for injury evaluation.
Injury Evaluation
An accurate diagnosis is the first step in creating a treatment plan for a sports injury. Dr. Delgado will perform a thorough orthopedic and neurologic exam prior to our chiropractic exam. Our first goal in injury evaluation is making sure that you and your injury will be best treated in our office. If the answer to that is no – we have a large network of specialists that we will refer you to. Our team is also very experienced in diagnostic imaging including X-ray and MRI.
Injury Treatment
We use many methods of treating your injury, but our general philosophy follows a passive care to active care model. This means that your initial treatment most likely includes a variation on PRICE (protect – rest – ice – compress – elevate). From there may do a combination of taping, manual therapy and manipulation until the healing has progressed enough to begin active care. Active care typically consists of stretches, exercises to strengthen and improve flexibility. Once the injury is pain-free we finally move into sport-specific activities to get you ready to return to play.
PASSIVE CARE —> ACTIVE CARE
Injury Prevention
If you are prone to injury or have recovered from an injury, you may want to stack the odds in your favor. Periodic maintenance evaluations and treatments will allow us to detect imbalances that may lead to re-injury. A typical maintenance treatment will include components of prior visits – ie. manual therapy, chiropractic manipulation, etc. At these visits we can also check on your home care including taping, exercises, etc.
Auto Injuries
Every 14 seconds, someone in the US is injured by a car accident. If you’ve had a wreck or fender-bender, you may walk away without any apparent injuries. However, many auto accident injuries may go undetected for days, weeks or even months following the accident. Eventually symptoms may start to develop.
Even if the impact seemed mild, you may have a whiplash injury. Most people involved in an automobile accident do. Your head “whips” forward (hyperflexion) and then backwards (hyperextension) or vice versa. When this occurs, tendons, ligaments and muscles that protect and cushion the spine can become damaged – as well as injuring discs and the spine itself. When tissues are stretched or torn, the spine becomes significantly less stable. If you have suffered a whiplash injury, it is vital to seek whiplash treatment immediately as many times people who have been involved in an accident don't even realize they have received a whiplash injury until weeks or months later when the problem becomes persistent and leads to other issues. Don’t let it come to that! Allow us to give you a thorough examination and x-rays to determine the severity of your injuries.
What are the Symptoms of Whiplash?
Whiplash injuries can range from mild to very severe. You may have whiplash if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder, upper back, and arm pain
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Pain when turning the head
- Inability to move or turn the head fully
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
- Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands, and fingers
- Ringing in the ears
- Difficulty sleeping
- Depression
As you can see there are a wide range of symptoms and not all of them may be immediately traceable to whiplash. If you have recently been injured it is important to get your spine checked as soon as possible. The sooner that you start treating the issue the less chance you have of it developing into a long-term problem. We at Washington Chiropractic take automobile accidents seriously, that is why we have a policy that injuries due to auto accidents are seen the same day!
Count on the expert
Before you settle for less health and recovery than you deserve, get answers to your questions. We find that after an injury, many people don't know what to do, and how to proceed. Call today for a free consultation. You may not know how complicated the proper management of auto accident or other types of injuries can be. Dr. Delgado holds a specialized certification in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Whiplash and is a Certified Insurance Consultant as well as a Medical Compliance Specialist-Provider, one of few clinicians with this distinction. He knows what it takes to get his patients better, how to communicate with insurance professionals and attorneys, and is able to provide expert witness testimony in trials. Our patients consistently rate our clinic very
high and they appreciate not only the treatment, but also our help with the whole process.
On your first visit you will need:
- The Accident Report
- Your Car Insurance Information
Even if you do not have any health insurance, you can still come in for treatment. All full coverage automobile insurance policies includes MEDPAY, a feature that covers your injuries at 100%. We specialize in coordinating with insurance companies so you do not have to worry about the headaches of paperwork.
Chiropractic Care for Work Accidents & Injuries
When you injure yourself on the job, you need to seek immediate medical attention not only for your health, but also to properly document the injury. During your initial visit, the doctor will perform an examination to determine the exact nature of your injury, he will then develop a personalized treatment plan to help heal the injury and relieve your pain. People experiencing work injuries are often referred to chiropractors because of the high success rate with treating these types of injuries. Chiropractic care offers a gentle, non-invasive first step when seeking treatment. Rest assured that as a qualified work injury office, we will fully document your condition so you have all the paperwork you need to file an insurance claim.
When you injure yourself on the job, you need to seek immediate medical attention not only for your health, but also to properly document the injury. During your initial visit, the doctor will perform an examination to determine the exact nature of your injury, he will then develop a personalized treatment plan to help heal the injury and relieve your pain. People experiencing work injuries are often referred to chiropractors because of the high success rate with treating these types of injuries. Chiropractic care offers a gentle, non-invasive first step when seeking treatment. Rest assured that as a qualified work injury office, we will fully document your condition so you have all the paperwork you need to file an insurance claim.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy is a medical condition caused by damaged nerve cells and often associated with autoimmune diseases, infections, diabetes, tumors, or hereditary conditions. Peripheral neuropathy currently affects over 20 million people in the United States with symptoms ranging from tingling or burning pain and nausea to muscle spasms, difficulty moving your arms or legs, or atrophy.
Knee Pain
Knee pain is increasingly becoming a more common problem in society. It is a complaint we see frequently. The most common complaint associated with knee pain is considered the normal “wear and tear.” Another ailment that affects the knee is osteoarthritis. The symptoms and progression of osteoarthritis and knee pain can be reduced through our individualized approach to chiropractic care.
Sciatica
Sciatica is characterized by pain in the lower back that radiates down one or both legs. The pain is described as dull, achy, sharp, like “pins and needles” or similar to electric shocks. Other symptoms associated with sciatica include burning, numbness and tingling sensations. Sciatic nerve pain varies in intensity from mild to severe, and frequency may range from occasional to constant. The onset is generally gradual and not necessarily associated with a previous event.
Sciatica is also known as radiating or referred pain, neuropathy, or neuralgia.